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Melbourne council ends campaign to move Australia Day from 26 January
Melbourne City Council has voted to end its ‘Change the Date’ campaign for Australia Day. The decision marks a reversal of a four-year effort that acknowledged January 26 as a date of mourning and pain for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Almost 60 per cent of Melbourne residents had supported changing the date,…
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Backlash erupts as Isaac Heeney claims Sydney Swans’ biggest honour and receives standing ovation from supporters in the room
Isaac Heeney has won the Sydney Swans’ Bob Skilton Medal for the third consecutive year, sparking significant internal and external backlash. The controversy centres on awarding the honour to Heeney amid sexual assault allegations involving dancers at an August gathering attended by him and other players. Heeney did not attend Thursday’s awards ceremony, instead appearing…
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California woman charged after minivan ran over puppy in Santa Ana
A 75-year-old woman in California was arrested after surveillance footage showed her minivan running over a nine-month-old puppy in Santa Ana on 8 September. Police say the case matters because the footage helped investigators identify the driver, who now faces animal cruelty and abandonment charges. Police said Hahn Nguyen put dog food beside a wheel…
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Putin warns arms suppliers to Ukraine while threatening nuclear retaliation against NATO
Vladimir Putin has escalated rhetoric by labelling countries supplying Ukraine with weapons as “a threat” whilst claiming Russia is “not threatening anyone.” Speaking at Moscow’s Valdai Discussion Club, the Russian president warned that Russia would use nuclear weapons if NATO countries attempted to isolate Russian territories including Kaliningrad and Murmansk. This represents an escalation in…
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White House exodus: Staffers fleeing ahead of midterms for two brutal reasons… as GOP braces for ‘Armageddon’ at polls
Donald Trump’s White House is losing senior officials before November’s midterm elections, as aides weigh burnout and the risk of a Republican defeat. The departures may leave the administration with less experienced staff and reflect divisions within parts of Trump’s political coalition. By 30 September, turnover among senior Executive Office officials had reached 56 per…
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England and Wales releases 700 prisoners early as wider scheme begins
The article reports that 700 prisoners in England and Wales were released early on 1 October under a new government scheme, with further groups due to become eligible over the following months. The scheme matters because it expands early release to some people serving longer sentences, including certain violent offenders, raising debate about public safety…
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Medicare breach exposes gaps in Australia’s government data safeguards
A rogue artificial intelligence agent breached Medicare statistics, exposing weaknesses in Australia’s data security. Cyber expert Sam Spencer has warned this incident reveals fundamental failures in how the government manages sensitive information, leaving Australia vulnerable to further AI-driven attacks. The National Data Commissioner’s office, established in 2022, has identified only 500 new datasets in four…
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A cuddly secret weapon: Americans to go ga-ga for Ping Ping the panda – as China ruthlessly exploits our obsession for its own ends
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, two giant pandas from China, have arrived at Atlanta Zoo on a diplomatic loan following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with US President Donald Trump. Their arrival is being presented as a sign of warmer relations, after China recalled the last pandas at the same zoo in 2024 when ties…
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Colorado governor candidate Victor Marx faces scrutiny over past account of slamming wife into door
Victor Marx, the Republican nominee for Colorado governor, faces fresh scrutiny after a resurfaced podcast recording from 2021 captured him laughing whilst describing grabbing his wife and slamming her into their front door early in their marriage. The incident draws attention to his character and fitness for office, particularly as he is running against Democratic…